title: Interleukin-12 gene therapy prevents establishment of SCC VII squamous cell carcinomas, inhibits tumor growth, and elicits long-term antitumor immunity in syngeneic C3H mice.
abstract: Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is an immunostimulatory agent with very promising antitumor activity. Using a retroviral expression vector, the authors have successfully transduced the genes encoding the two subunits of murine IL-12 to the squamous cell carcinoma cell line, SCC VII. Once IL-12 gene transcription and protein production were successfully verified, IL-12 expression was found to inhibit the establishment of SCC VII tumors in syngeneic C3H/HeJ mice inoculated with 1 x 10(6) SCC VII/IL-12 viable tumor cells. Mice immunized in this manner and rechallenged with parent SCC VII were capable of rejecting tumor up to 40% of the time. Treatment of established SCC VII tumors with irradiated IL-12-producing tumors cells led to significant tumor regression in a high percentage of animals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mank-Seymour
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zitvogel
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Storkus
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tahara
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Lotze
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D007167:Immunotherapy; D018664:Interleukin-12 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012190:Retroviridae; D014162:Transfection; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D018664:Interleukin-12